Congratulations to the following students:

Madeleine Marr (Year 12), who has been recognised as a prize recipient in the 2026 What Matters? Tasmania writing competition. Her entry, Endeavour To, received a Highly Commended award in the Years 11–12 category. Madeleine was formally acknowledged for her achievement at a special awards presentation held recently at the Hobart Town Ballroom. We're proud of Madeleine's writing talent and dedication, and we wish her continued success in all her future creative endeavours.

Clove Bell (Year 9), who competed in the National Hockey Tournament in Melbourne. This is a fantastic achievement and a wonderful opportunity to perform at a high level. Well done, Clove – we’re proud of you

Elise Kennedy and Summer Selby (Year 9), who recently represented Tasmania in the 15&U State Netball Team at the School Sport Australia Championships in Victoria. Elise and Summer are pictured here during the dress presentation. Well done to you both!

Alexandria Champion, Essie Kline, Rennie Woolnough (Year 6) and Madeleine Pritchard (Year 5), who have been selected for the 2026 U12 Girls Tasmanian Hockey Team and will represent the state in Newcastle, NSW in October. This is a fantastic achievement and a testament to their hard work, skill and commitment to the sport. We wish these students all the very best of luck as they take the field on the national stage!

Sofie Klasen (Year 7) and Tatum Smith (Year 6), who have been selected for the U14 Girls State Hockey Team, which will compete in Canberra in October. We also congratulate Annabelle Pritchard (Year 8), Maddie Stanton (Year 8) and Sylvie Gundry (Year 7) on being named as team reserves (train-ons). Well done to these students. This is terrific recognition of their skill, commitment and development in hockey!

Alice Fox (Year 6), who has been accepted into the UTAS Basketball Academy. The UTAS Basketball Academy is a high-performance development pathway that supports emerging athletes through advanced coaching, strength and conditioning, and academic guidance. Amazing work, Alice. Alice has also gained entry into the STJRFL U12 Girls Development Squad, joining Tatum Smith (Year 6), pictured above, in this exciting opportunity.

Congratulations to all our Junior School students who participated in the 2026 Chinese Speaking Competition in Tasmania. We are incredibly proud of their outstanding efforts and the dedication they demonstrated in preparing for this event. The judges were particularly impressed by our students' clear pronunciation, fluency and confidence in speaking Chinese as a second language.

We are delighted to celebrate the achievements of our prize winners. Out of 17 students representing the school, six received awards. They are:

Manuli Gunatilake (3G) – First Place
Madeline Collis (3G) – Second Place
Amelia Fagan (3G) – Second Place
Essie Davidson (3B) – Third Place
Poppy McLeod (4B) – Third Place
Yara Assi (4M)– Highly Commended

Well done to all of our participants on their wonderful achievements and special congratulations to our award recipients.

Storytelling Showcase Awards

In the last edition of The Fountain newsletter, we announced the students shortlisted for the 2026 Storytelling Showcase Awards. Following this morning's Junior School Assembly, we are pleased to share the recipients of the Encouragement Awards and Creative Writers Awards. Congratulations to the following students on their wonderful achievements: recipients

Encouragement Awards

Charlotte McKinlay – Year 1/2

Maddie Golding – Year 3/4

Emlyn Couacaud – Year 5/6

Abi Cole – Creative Writer's Award

Major Awards

Year 1/2

Theresa French – Third place

Hazel Shaw – Second place

Olivia Tuttle – First place

Year 3/4

Mackenzie Roberts and Clementine Fraser – Third place

Summer Zhou – Second place

Poppy McLeod – First place

Year 5/6

Genevieve Edwards and Abigail Moran – Third place

Sophia Wass – Second place

Tatum Smith – First place

Sophia Wass – Principal's Award

We love celebrating the achievements of our students! Share your stories and photos with us at stmarys@smc.tas.edu.au, and your child’s success will be featured in an upcoming edition of The Fountain newsletter.

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